Denise C. Park, Distinguished University Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, began studying cognitive her freshman year in college, and since then, she has never stopped. As a young scientist, Dr. Park realized that almost nothing was known about how the mind changes with age, and recognized that it was likely to become a very important topic as the baby boomers reached late adulthood. Hence, Dr. Park focused her entire career on the study of the aging mind and became an international leader in the study of cognition and aging. She joined the UT Dallas faculty in 2008 and previously held tenured professorships in the Department of Psychology at the University of Georgia, the University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois. She is the Founding Director of the Center for Vital Longevity, an outstanding research center at UT Dallas, where she is presently Director of Research.